Police confirmed that unidentified armed men had entered the office of the Online news agency on Jinnah road and opened indiscriminate fire killing three men on the spot – two journalists and a media worker, a police official said.

This is the first time that such a major attack has been carried out on a media outlet in Quetta. No group has claimed the attack and the motive remains unclear.

Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists with Balochistan a hotspot for violence.

Seven reporters were killed in Pakistan in 2013, deaths which have been blamed on the government's inaction.

Resource rich Balochistan has been plagued by a long-running separatist insurgency with nationalists seeking to stop what they see as the exploitation of the region's natural resources and alleged rights abuses.